Eli Lilly Tops Q1 Views

reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter on Thursday. The Indianapolis, Indiana-based company posted a quarterly net profit of $529.5 million, or $0.50 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $727.9 million, or $0.68 per share. Excluding items, Eli Lilly earned $0.87 per share. Its revenue slipped around 1 percent to $4.64 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.77 per share on revenue of $4.62 billion. Worldwide animal health sales rose 42 percent year-over-year to $749.8 million in the first quarter. Humalog sales rose 5 percent to $684.0 million, while Alimta sales slipped 9 percent to $573.0 million. Humulin sales came in essentially flat at $315.7 million for the first quarter, while Zyprexa sales slipped 22 percent to $219.5 million. Gross margin as a percent of revenue rose 0.4 percentage points to 74.3 percent in the latest quarter. Operating expenses in the first quarter slipped 1 percent year-over-year to $2.563 billion, while research and development expenses dropped 6 percent to $1.039 billion. Operating income in the first quarter tumbled 37 percent to $525.2 million. The average estimate among 13 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.77 per share and revenue of $4.63 billion. "While our first-quarter revenue reflects the impact of foreign exchange headwinds and the lingering effects of U.S. patent expirations for Cymbalta and Evista, Lilly remains on track to return to growth in 2015 driven by excellent progress in our innovation-based strategy," said John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., Lilly's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Recent new product launches, the growing success of our late-stage pipeline, and the recent acquisition of Novartis Animal Health reinforce our confidence in our future." The company now expects 2015 earnings of $2.21 to $2.31 per share, versus earlier forecast of from $2.40 to $2.50 per share. However, the company reaffirmed its non-GAAP earnings forecast of $3.10 to $3.20 per share on revenue of $19.5 billion and $20.0 billion. Eli Lilly shares rose 0.12 percent to close at $72.30 yesterday.